Chapter 72 : A Maid Big Sister?
Ryan raised his eyes. “In other words, there is no way to confirm whether the temperature-control asures were still intact when the goods arrived at the academy?”
Horace avoided his gaze, and his voice dropped a little.
“…In theory, double the amount of mana crystals should have been enough to support the entire journey. Even with so loss, it should not have been enough to seriously activate the Ice Crystal Flowers. Unless…”
“Unless what?”
“Unless soone deliberately damaged the runes on the insulated containers, or… replaced the mana crystals with ones whose energy had already been exhausted.” After saying that, Horace shook his own head first. “But that is impossible. The boxes have simple anti-theft magical marks. If they are forcibly opened, there will be a record. And Barton and the others have followed the family for so many years. They would never—”
“Is Hank also soone who has served the family for many years?” Ryan cut in.
Horace fell silent.
Hank had only been recruited last year. Supposedly, he had been recomnded by so distant relative. He had worked diligently enough, but as for his background… it was true that it was not especially clear.
The room fell into a brief silence.
The noise from downstairs drifted up faintly, making the stagnant atmosphere inside even more oppressive.
Ryan closed his notebook and slid the pen back into his pocket.
“One last question. On the night you stayed at Old Horse Inn, aside from Barton and Hank, did any other mbers of the caravan—or anyone of unclear identity—co into contact with this shipnt? Even if they only looked at it from a distance?”
Horace frowned and tried to rember. Slowly, he shook his head.
“Barton never ntioned anything like that. The inn had people coming and going. Even if there were, he might not have paid special attention…”
Ryan did not press further.
He put away the inquiry letter and glanced at the darkening sky outside the window.
Ti was slipping away.
“Horace,” he said again, this ti with a slightly gentler tone, “I will handle the academy’s side of this. But on the family’s side, I need you to do several things.”
The old butler lifted his head, caution filling his gray-brown eyes.
“First, use your connections and channels in the Northern Territories to secretly investigate two people: Andre Garcia and Hanson Wood, as well as the recent movents of the families behind them—especially any unusual transactions or personnel contacts related to northern materials and transportation.”
Horace’s pupils contracted slightly.
“The Garcia family and the Wood family? They are both connected to Marquis Wilier—”
“Do it,” Ryan said, not allowing him to finish.
“Second, find Hank. I want to see him alive—or, if not…” He paused. “Then I want to know where his bones lie.”
“Third, pass a ssage to Father in your own way. Tell him that I will resolve the academy’s matter and that it will not drag down the family’s trade routes. But during these forty-eight hours, he—and everyone at ho—must remain quiet. They are not to do anything unnecessary, and they are not to believe any rumors coming from outside.”
Horace opened his mouth, as if he wanted to argue or question him, but when he looked into Ryan’s calm yet deep blue eyes, and at the letter on the table that represented the will of the academy, he ultimately only nodded stiffly.
“I understand, Young Master Ryan… young master.” This ti, the words “young master” seed to carry slightly more weight. Whether that was due to the situation or sothing else was impossible to tell.
Ryan did not linger. He turned and pulled the door open.
“Young Master Ryan.”
Horace suddenly called after him, his voice sowhat dry.
“Can you… truly resolve this? The Garcia family and the Wood family are not easy to provoke. And the academy as well…”
Ryan did not stop walking. He only turned half his face, the contours of his profile blurred in the dim light of the corridor.
“In forty-eight hours, we will know.”
He closed the door behind him, shutting the old butler’s complicated gaze away.
The information Horace had provided made the trail gradually clearer.
Hank—the deputy leader who had only joined the rchant guild last year, whose behavior at Old Horse Inn had been abnormal, and who had since resigned and disappeared—had beco far more suspicious.
Had he been bribed by Andre and the others on short notice, or had he been planted long ago as a hidden piece on the board?
For the mont, the chances of finding him seed slim.
But the core of the matter had already begun to surface.
They had very likely tampered with the temperature-control chanism during transport, or even directly swapped out part of the materials.
However, how was he supposed to find substantive evidence?
Magical ans could easily erase physical traces, and human witnesses might already have been silenced or fled far away.
Ryan rubbed his throbbing temples.
Just then, hunger rose at exactly the right mont, interrupting the way his thoughts were sinking deeper and deeper into a dead end.
He put away his notes and decided to return to the dormitory first.
When he pushed open the dormitory door, the warm air and the aroma of food drove away the chill of the corridor.
Sure enough, a simple lunch had already been set out on the table.
Bread baked to perfection.
Steaming vegetable soup.
And a small plate of pan-fried at.
Cosette was standing on tiptoe, trying hard to arrange the soup spoon neatly. The mont she heard the door open, she turned around, and a relieved smile spread across her face.
“Master, you’re back. The al is just ready.”
She ran over in small quick steps, took the coat Ryan had removed, and hung it up.
She clearly still knew nothing about the storm that had erupted during the day. The disciplinary committee’s interrogation and the wager had not yet spread to the ordinary students.
Ryan looked at the complete trust in his little maid’s eyes and decided not to ntion it for now.
The malice and danger entangled behind this matter were not sothing she should be made to worry about too early.
He finished lunch in silence, and Cosette obediently cleared away the dishes.
Ryan spread open his notebook again and tried to connect the scattered clues, searching for the possible breakthrough hidden among them.
Old Horse Inn.
Hank.
Temperature-control chanism…
His thoughts were like a tangled skein.
At that mont, there was a knock at the door.
Ryan and Cosette both looked up at once.
Who would be knocking at his door at this hour?
Had soone from the Disciplinary Committee returned?
Or…
Cosette glanced at Ryan. After receiving silent permission, she walked to the door and carefully opened it a crack.
Standing outside was not a committee mber in uniform, but an unfamiliar maid.
She was tall, wearing a well-tailored dark gray maid dress made of fine material, with delicate white lace trimming the hem and cuffs.
Her long pink hair had been gathered into an elegant chignon at the back of her head, making her fair skin appear even paler.
Most striking of all was her appearance.
She was intellectual yet alluring, especially those slightly upturned eyes. When they moved, it seed as though a faint mist lingered within them, carrying an indescribable charm.
She looked to be around twenty years old, with a dignified bearing that clearly ca from a great household with strict rules.
Ryan searched his mory quickly, but found no impression of her whatsoever.
Cosette, however, lit up at once. Cheerfully, she pulled the door farther open.
“Big Sister Lano!”
The maid called Lano bowed slightly and offered Cosette a gentle smile. Then her gaze turned toward Ryan inside the room.
She lifted the skirt of her dress and perford a flawless curtsy, the movent smooth and elegant.
“Good evening, Young Master Velt. Please forgive the intrusion. My na is Lano.” Her voice was soft and pleasant. “I ca to see Miss Cosette.”
Ryan rose to his feet, his gaze turning assessing.
“Miss Lano? I do not believe we have t before.”
Lano maintained her proper smile.
“That is correct, young master. I serve the Herbert family. I have t Miss Cosette several tis before in the library and dining hall, and we got along very well. Miss Cosette is very eager to learn, so from ti to ti I have helped her borrow a few books suitable for beginners.”
As she explained, her gaze remained warmly fixed on Cosette.
Cosette hurriedly nodded and said to Ryan, “Master, this is the big sister I ntioned to you before, the one who taught massage and told so many things! Big Sister Lano is really kind!”
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